[dalby]

good point, bear.

myself- i TRADE futures, but most of investments are stocks (and a smattering of commodities)

futures for me are for speculation. in my trading account. to generate income

stocks are ownership of good companies in order to build longterm wealth

i take profits from my trading account, and put them into longterm stuff - stocks, bonds, gold, etc.

i think many traders eschew futures because they don't understand them, don't want to understand them, and feel more comfortable with a known entity.

and also, as mentioned - one needs to differentiate between investors and traders. a relatively high %age of traders use futures.

a VERY small %age of investors do.